Fresh Brews: Stolen Coffee, Coffee Wars And More

There’s never a quiet week in the coffee world, here’s some of the stories worth reading from last week:

Wake Up and Steal the Coffee
Anyone that has ever worked in a office with bad or even no coffee can relate to this story in the New York Times. Pablo and his coworkers had a serious lack of quality coffee problem. They discovered that an office on another floor didn’t just have coffee, they had gourmet coffee with plenty of delicious choices. They started sneaking down to the other floor, which eventually lead to them being threatened by a building security guard. The moral of the story: there’s no coffee better than stolen coffee and further proof that every office should have a high quality coffee marker or two.

Peet’s Coffee: In Africa, Brewing Good Works
This a story about how Peet’s Coffee is working with farmers in Rwanda to do more than just make great coffee, but to also improve the local infrastructure and the lives of the people producing the coffee. It’s a win for the farmers and a win for all of us drinking their coffee. Now, if only more coffee companies would start thinking and acting like Peet’s.

Out of the Bodega and Onto the Scene
I vaguely remember buying Cafe Bustelo coffee at corner stores when I lived in New York, I never thought I would read about it being a part of the trendsetting set in Hollywood. I remember it being slightly above average, but nothing worth talking about. Maybe I’m missing something and I should go back and try it again.

Hawaiian Islands erupt with new coffee regions
I knew about Hawaii’s thriving tourism industry, not so much about their thriving coffee industry. Next time I’m out there, I’ll have to make time to check out their coffee. Of course, by next time, I mean the first time I go there.

McDonald’s turns up heat on coffee wars: free joe for two weeks
McDonald’s offers free java in coffee wars
If you’re lucky enough to live in Canada (never thought I would type that), you can get McDonald’s coffee for free right now. The coffee wars here are crazy, but up on the other side of the border, they’re taking it to a whole new level of competition with Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s fighting to control the market.

High-end coffee business slows during recession
Ever see a title that just doesn’t go with the story? This article from CNN is about the Speciality Coffee Association Expo last week and includes anecdotes from coffee producers about how business was slow, but are now seeing major improvements. CNN fear mongering strikes again! Ok, maybe now I’m the only that’s going a little too far. I really do like CNN, just think they need focus on positive things once in a while.

Preventing the old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Ever spill your coffee on your keyboard? I’ve come dangerously close a few times. This writer found an interesting solution. I say interesting because I don’t know if I’d really want one of those contraptions on my desk.

Amazing photo by once and future.

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Tagged as: Cafe Bustelo, Coffee News, McDonalds, Peet's Coffee, Starbucks, Tim Hortons